Sri Lanka's Lionesses produced a spirited and courageous display in the final of the Asian Netball Championships on Saturday but fell just short against hosts Singapore, going down 64–67 in a pulsating gold medal match. Despite the narrow defeat, the tournament represented a major step forward for the Lionesses as they continue their preparations for the 2027 Netball World Cup.
Head coach Hyacinth Wijesinghe's side had been the most impressive team throughout the group stages, winning all four of their preliminary matches by comfortable margins to book their place in the knockout rounds. Captain Gayanjali Amarawansa led by example throughout, directing play from centre with an authority that belied the team's relatively youthful composition. Her partnership with vice-captain Dulangi Wannithilake, who operated between wing attack and goal attack across the tournament, gave Sri Lanka an attacking fluency that few teams could match.
The final itself was a contest befitting the occasion. Sri Lanka raced to an early lead behind the clinical shooting of goal attack Hasitha Mendis, who converted 12 of her 14 first-quarter attempts to help the Lionesses establish a 19–15 advantage. Mendis, whose shooting accuracy and ability to create space in the circle have been central to Sri Lanka's recent improvement, finished the match with 34 goals.
Singapore, however, responded with a dominant second quarter, tightening their defensive press and exploiting turnovers to level the scores at 33–33 by half-time. The third quarter was an absorbing arm-wrestle, with neither side able to establish more than a two-goal advantage. Wing defence Malmi Hettiarachchi was outstanding for Sri Lanka during this period, producing three intercepts that kept the Lionesses within touching distance.
The decisive moment came midway through the fourth quarter when Singapore strung together a run of four unanswered goals to open a five-goal lead. Sri Lanka fought valiantly to close the gap, and goal shooter Shanika Perera converted three consecutive goals in the final two minutes to bring the margin back to three, but time ran out on the Lionesses' comeback attempt.
"Of course we are disappointed not to win the gold, but I could not be prouder of this group," Wijesinghe said. "We have shown that Sri Lanka can compete at the highest level in Asia and we will take the lessons from this final into our World Cup preparations. The future is very bright for this team."
